SAN JOSE, CA – FEBRUARY 19: Devin Setoguchi #16 of the San Jose Sharks poses in the locker room after his hat trick against the Colorado Avalanche during an NHL game on February 19, 2011 at HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Devin Setoguchi

The Wild have disappointed their fans in recent years. But they are sorry. And to show it, they sent them the equivalent of a hockey Candygram on Saturday.

Want to send shivers through the State of Hockey? Draft a local kid. The Wild did just that by trading up into the second round to select Mario Lucia out of Wayzata High School. With luck, Lucia eventually will become a second-generation Darby Hendrickson.

“It’s just an honor,” Lucia said. “You couldn’t have written a better story than this.”

Especially after Chuck Fletcher’s ill-advised trade of former first-round pick Nick Leddy to Chicago for the very forgettable Cam Barker. From Eden Prairie, Leddy could be a fixture on the Blackhawks’ blue line for years.

Although it will take a while for him to develop into an NHL-ready winger, Lucia already holds the title of Most Popular Player-in-Waiting. Fans will be clamoring for him as soon as he turns pro. Coach Mike Yeo, if he’s still around then, will learn what Jacques Lemaire learned: It’s tough to satisfy the fan base when it comes to a Minnesota kid.

There is no question that there was a time when the Wild shied away from Minnesota players. This has been pointed out endlessly, of course. The main reason was that there was enormous pressure on both sides.

A Minnesotan playing for the Wild might not be quite as stressful as a Quebec native playing for Montreal, but it’s relatively close. But instead of being overly critical, the home fans here are overly adoring. They want the local kid in uniform, even if he isn’t quite ready. They want him on the power play. They want him leading the team in ice time. If he isn’t, then the Wild aren’t giving him a proper chance.

Meanwhile, the kid is pulled in 50 directions. Everybody wants a piece of him. He gets quoted daily in the papers and always seems to be on camera during the evening sportscasts. This often creates resentment among some of his teammates. He is in great demand off the ice, too, and has to be careful of overextending himself. All of the attention inevitably is disproportionate to his contribution to the team.

Even when a local player’s ability begins to decline, the organization is terrified of trading him and facing a fan backlash. It’s a long-term marriage for better or for worse. So everybody needs to know what they are in for at the start.

Clearly this did not bother Fletcher, who insisted he wouldn’t draft a Minnesotan just to draft a Minnesotan. But as Lucia fell deep into the second round, the temptation became too great. He traded two later-round picks to be able to select him, effectively blowing a kiss to the increasingly impatient fan base. But wait, there’s more!

The next time the Wild got to pick, at No. 131, Fletcher took defenseman Nick Seeler out of Eden Prairie High School. That pick sent many of us scrambling through our packet of scouting reports. We didn’t come up with much. Seeler was unranked by Central Scouting. No matter – he’s another Minnesota kid. That’s the pertinent stat. This got some of the locals in the Xcel stands so excited they had to pack themselves in ice to cool down.

Meanwhile, Lucia said he wasn’t completely surprised by ending up with the Wild.

“I didn’t know they had a trade coming,” said Lucia, who sat squirming throughout the second round. “When they announced it, I thought, ‘Here it comes.’ ”

Lucia said he had met with the Wild last week and was told that they would try to get him. But all he could do was hope. When his name was called, he was absolutely thrilled.

“I’ve always rooted for them,” he said. “I’m happy to be a part of this organization.

Lucia is a levelheaded young man with an excellent pedigree. He was the first Minnesotan chosen, 60th overall, in what is a down year for the State of Hockey. As he fell in the second round, some of us began to envision the irony of ironies: Lucia being drafted by the New York Islanders at No. 50. Islanders general manager Garth Snow has been vocal in his criticism of Don Lucia’s ability to develop players at the University of Minnesota. Don is Mario’s dad.

Asked if he were concerned about possibly going to the Islanders, Lucia laughed hard and said, “I’m not going to answer that!”

He’s got a pretty good idea of what to expect as a future Minnesota Wild.

“There’s more pressure on me than other players because I’m the hometown kid,” he said. “They’re going to be rooting for you a little harder than most other guys.”

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